They are not following their own policy

[Bilal127]

They said if I cancel before 3 PM I will get 100% refund. I did not. I only got partial and then when I contacted them, they said they will call me back in two minutes and they never did almost been two hours right now is ridiculous and shame and it’s illegal. I have been enjoying Airbnb since 2017 with no issues whatsoever. This Customer service name I think shubhan Or something like that is the person I was speaking to I have documentation of everything if this is not resolved with them I’m gonna have to file a complaint with BBB and other places as well.

[Shelley159]

Hi @Bilal127 

You can check the cancellation policy of a specific listing if you click on it and scroll down to Cancellation Policy. Not all listings have the same policy. You should be able to see whether you were entitled to a refund.

[Bilal127]

 

[Bilal127]

of course I know and I already did, but they still did not give me my hundred percent refund they broke their own policy, which is illegal. It’s misleading.

[Shelley159]

Hi @Bilal127 

Are you in the same time zone as the Airbnb?

[Bilal127]

It goes by the time of the reader doesn’t matter what Airbnb has for a time on their end because it states clearly 3 PM in my end and that’s what is legally a contract otherwise it would’ve said GMT UTC  etc. so in this case in case it is my local time, legally speaking. 

[Shelley159]

@Bilal127 

What is the check-in time given for this Airbnb?

[Bilal127]

The check in was for It’s august 25. But the cancellation policy is based on a certain time that it mention was mentioned and it said i had until august 20 by 3 pm for full refund.

[Shelley159]

@Bilal127 

If you click on the listing, under House Rules it shows you what time you may check in at that particular Airbnb on the day of your arrival (hosts choose the check-in time so it's not the same for every place). What is the check-in time for this listing?

[Kia272]

@Bilal127 AirBnB keeps their service fees. That may be why you think you didn't get a full refund. 

The wording "100%" is meant to trick you. All it means is that the host didn't get paid, but AirBnB kept their portion. Could that be the issue? 

[Bilal127]

No, because they were actually very clear about the reason. I spoke to two different people, and both mentioned it was due to different time zones. One said its based on airbnb time and other he said host. Lol . It’s ridiculous. It should be based on the reader time zone. Unbelievable.

[Shelley159]

@Bilal127 

If check-in time is 15h00 at the listing and the listing's time zone is east of where you are, then that's the reason for the smaller amount. You can recalculate the refund to see if it matches the "before 25 Aug" amount in your screenshot above.

(The Airbnb fee is refunded in full if you canceled in the free cancelation period:

 When the service fee is refundable
The service fee is refundable if you cancel before your reservation’s free cancellation period ends or if your Host decides to refund you in full after you cancel.)

[Bilal127]

 

I think there's a misunderstanding because you only seeing part of the policy, you have to look up because it gives another option to cancel by 20 August. I just provided the screenshot for the second time. The screenshot clearly states that if I cancel before August 20th by 3 PM, I’ll receive a full refund. However, when I called, they confirmed that but added it had to be based on the host's time zone. The problem is, the cancellation policy on my end doesn't specify the time zone, so it should be based on the reader's local time, not the host's.

[Lorina14]

@Bilal127 

You need to keep fighting this and escalate it up to a manager if you have any hope in getting all your fees back. It is true that it is misleading as it was not clearly listed on the cancellation fees and airbnb should make that absolutely clear as they operate in all time zones across the world. 

I have however lost this argument with companies who advertise a sale price and I purchase things before the day ends and then don’t get the sale price. They then say it is EST and I’m like what?! There are several time zones behind EST and it was not clearly written. Most good companies should honor it but many unfortunately have not. And I think that is just poor practice to not honor something that was not clearly stated.

[Bilal127]

Absolutely. It’s a multimillion dollar company. They should do better. I also filed a complaint with BBB for now. i dont want this to happen to others they could loss alot of more money than this. They just called me and i guess they are “ working on it” i will let u know